Silva was bouncing back from a first-round KO loss of his own, at the hands of light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida. But while no one in the light heavyweight division is as good as Machida, Silva showed that he's plenty good himself. Machida is the only man to defeat Silva, and Silva has now earned five UFC wins by knockout or TKO in the last 27 months.
Jardine looked like he had Silva frustrated briefly in the early going, but Silva landed a left hook that floored Jardine and then a couple punches on the ground, and Jardine was out. Silva had the KO victory just 1:35 into the first round.
"Tonight is my night," Silva said afterward. "I'm here to prove I'm back. ... This fight was very important for me. The UFC is my life."
Silva has improved his MMA record to 14-1, and he could be a couple of wins away from another shot at Machida. Jardine fell to 14-6-1.
For full UFC 102 coverage, also check our UFC Twitter updates, live chat and full UFC 102 results.
UFC 102 Photos
PORTLAND, OR - AUGUST 29: UFC fighter Randy Couture (Bottom) battles UFC fighter Antonio Nogueira (Top) during their Heavyweight bout at UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira at the Rose Garden Arena on August 29, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Randy Couture;Antonio Nogueira
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PORTLAND, OR - AUGUST 29: UFC fighter Randy Couture (Bottom) battles UFC fighter Antonio Nogueira (Top) during their Heavyweight bout at UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira at the Rose Garden Arena on August 29, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Randy Couture;Antonio Nogueira
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PORTLAND, OR - AUGUST 29: UFC fighter Antonio Nogueira (L) battles UFC fighter Randy Couture (R) during their Heavyweight bout at UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira at the Rose Garden Arena on August 29, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Antonio Nogueira;Randy Couture
Getty Images
PORTLAND, OR - AUGUST 29: UFC fighter Antonio Nogueira (L) battles UFC fighter Randy Couture (R) during their Heavyweight bout at UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira at the Rose Garden Arena on August 29, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Antonio Nogueira;Randy Couture
Getty Images
PORTLAND, OR - AUGUST 29: UFC fighter Antonio Nogueira (L) battles UFC fighter Randy Couture (R) during their Heavyweight bout at UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira at the Rose Garden Arena on August 29, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Antonio Nogueira;Randy Couture
Getty Images
PORTLAND, OR - AUGUST 29: UFC fighter Chris Leben (L) battles UFC fighter Jake Rosholt (R) during their Middleweight bout at UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira at the Rose Garden Arena on August 29, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Chris Leben;Jake Rosholt
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PORTLAND, OR - AUGUST 29: UFC fighter Nate Marquardt (L) knocks out UFC fighter Demian Maia (R) during their Middleweight bout at UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira at the Rose Garden Arena on August 29, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Nate Marquardt;Demian Maia
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PORTLAND, OR - AUGUST 29: UFC fighter Nate Marquardt (L) knocks out UFC fighter Demian Maia (R) during their Middleweight bout at UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira at the Rose Garden Arena on August 29, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Nate Marquardt;Demian Maia
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PORTLAND, OR - AUGUST 29: UFC fighter Nate Marquardt (L) knocks out UFC fighter Demian Maia (R) during their Middleweight bout at UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira at the Rose Garden Arena on August 29, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Nate Marquardt;Demian Maia
Getty Images
PORTLAND, OR - AUGUST 29: UFC fighter Nate Marquardt (L) battles UFC fighter Demian Maia (R) during their Middleweight bout at UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira at the Rose Garden Arena on August 29, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Nate Marquardt;Demian Maia
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